How Antibiotics Work
For antibiotics to work quickly, which delivery method works fastest: pills, liquids or shots?Copyright 2004 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA. All rights reserved.
Students are introduced to a challenge question. Towards answering the question, they generate ideas for what they need to know about medicines and how they move through our bodies, watch a few short videos to gain multiple perspectives, and then learn lecture material to obtain a basic understanding of how antibiotics kill bacteria in the human body. They learn why different forms of medicine (pill, liquid or shot) get into the blood stream at different speeds.
Biomedical engineers assist biologists and doctors in developing devices that allow us to observe cell interactions and reactions. They design artificial environments that simulate the body, and aid in the growth of cells. Other engineers, including mechanical, computer, materials and electrical engineers, collaborate to create the amazing array of devices and tools used in medical experiments.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Describe how antibiotics kill bacteria cells.
- Describe how medicine moves through the human body.